Let's talk NCT sales!!!!

[Ambivalence]

Went to my first one yesterday - was quite overwhelming and I could really do with some tips for what to buy!

My goodness -it gave me confidence about the social aspect of the NCT -the volunteers were so nice, so welcoming. And chatty -that was lovely.

was rather shocked at the state of some of the offerings - eg really worn, faded and stained baby bjorn slings -no instructions, no boxes, £30, when you can get brand new on Amazon for £60, but they got snapped up! Not sure if I am missing something and being too snobby about the state things should be in for nearly new -it's my precious first born. I had gone with hopes high of bargains galore, but was pretty disappointed. -is this because it is central London and I need to be out in rural areas where people are more realistic about pricing things? Or am I just a snob and will feel differently about worn, stained, bobbled things -once baby has been sick in them a few times I won't care as long as they work!?

Very disappointed that the 2 pieces of equipment I bought - a mamas and papas sling -was missing the extra head support cushion, and a baby gym, missing the musical attached toy and the tummy time pillow that came with. My fault of course as I should have checked they were complete, but I didn't know what I was looking for, lesson learned -I need to do my research , and foolishly I waited to get home to google what the recommended retail price was to see if I had gotten a bargain.

Could really do with some tips from any veterans as to what to buy . I am trying to keep costs down, and am wondering if I am better off doing my baby shopping at a supermarket instead. I live in central London and don't. Drive, so rarely go to the big supermarkets -but looking at baby grows online in Asia they seem bargains in comparison ( and you can return if they don't fit!)

The people were lovely though -so am totally looking forward to my NCT classes now (only going to make friends)

Do you have nct membership? If so, get there EARLY, as soon as doors open. I've stopped going to nct sales because I find that all the good stuff goes in the first half hour when only members can go in (I'm not a member). There are quite a few privately run and church/preschool run sales near us, and I've found those a lot better. They're particularly good for the following:
Clothes
Moses baskets
Toys (stacking cups, building blocks etc)
Walking toys
Baby baths
Prams (think I'd spend more money on a pushchair as you'll use it for a long time).

I've also bought a lot of things from eBay (beds, cot, pushchairs) and a local mums nearly new forum. There's very little you need to buy new if you hunt around (although you might need a car to collect bigger things).

Regarding slings, I've only ever seen baby Bjorn type slings at nearly new sales. The nicer slings (ergo, connecta etc) people sell on eBay (they keep their value) or pass on. Watch out for fake ergos on eBay/amazon though!

Good luck! Buying second baby stuff is quite good fun if you enjoy a good rummage and a bit of haggling. If something's overpriced, then don't buy it- your instincts sound spot on. Some people just take the piss a bit regarding pricing.

I haven't got an issue with second hand -just expected it to be in better condition for the prices charged. I guess the last second hand sale I have attended were to buy my school uniform and everything was in good condition and "nearly new" - but then teenagers don't batter things like babies do. Maybe I am a snob, I am happy to buy second hand if it saves me money, and maybe I am being precious, but I just expected stuff to be in good condition -not like the end if a jumble sale and not much iff the full price. Everyone else was snapping it up though so wondered if my expectations are very unrealistic.

I think I need to Stick with the big supermarkets...

I always go to a sale knowing what I'd like to buy so I don't come home with stuff I've just bought on impulse.

I picked up a big box of wooden trains and tracks for DS for £5 the other week which was a bargain. I also bought DS a baby walker for £5 a couple of years ago RRP £30.

I think good things to buy second hand would be baby sleeping bags, these are about £25-£30 new, I bought a second hand Mothercare one for £3. Blankets would be good as these are pricey to buy new but cheap second hand. Plastic toys and rattles are good to buy secondhand I think and easy to wash clean.

I find clothes are better quality than the vests and babygrows when buying secondhand so I tended to buy vests and babygrows from Primark/Tesco/Asda and buy clothes second hand, second hand baby clothes seem to sell for 50p a t-shirt and £1 for jeans or jumper, maybe £2 for a dress.

There are lots of lists of 'essentials' for the baby online, but everyone is different in what they want.

I think Nearly New Sales can be a bit hit and miss, depends where you are in central London too. The Ealing ones used to be legendary when I was preg with my first.

I agree you need to think about what you will actually NEED, because with your first you can get very swept up with having every baby product on the market and you seriously don't need half of it!!

If you live in Central London I am guessing space at home may be an issue too so even more reason to limit the quantity. As far as slings go you can try out a Sling Library (should be one not far from you - ask your NCT lady when you go to classes) YOu can try on different ones, but to be honest this can be better left til you've had the baby because it can depend on weight of baby, how you feel post delivery, what type of birth you end up with etc. (I realise thats not too helpful if you just bought one!)

Keep posting on Preg boards - I'm due with my 3rd in the summer.

I am pregnant with no.2 and about to go to my first nct sale, out of curiosity. A lot of my friends from first time round are obsessed with them but when I go around to their houses they are full of junk from these sales! My policy is usually to only get what you need... That's the best way to save cash.

Nearly New seems to mean different things to different people - I am on the co-ordinating team for my local sale and we routinely have to take items out of the sale when setting up as they just aren't in good enough condition. I think we're quite strict as a branch but we have to be because of space, amount sellers and our predicted footfall.

Bear in mind also that sellers are responsible for setting their own prices and not everyone is realistic about what constitutes a reasonable price. We provide guidance (ie Primark vests will not sell anywhere near retail) but some ignore that. But some people will sell at incredible prices just to have it gone - we had a near-on brand new Phil & Ted double for less than £100 at our last sale. Generally I think don't bother with clothes, especially not newborns, and go for the bigger stuff. I got a pushchair for a ludicrous price. This time around I'm after more cloth nappies, a buggy board, books/toys for DD and maternity clothes.

The single best way to get the best stuff is to volunteer, thus getting access to the presale. You can do it pregnant, or with a tiny baby, and there are plenty of jobs to do so if you can't be on your feet long that's totally workable. You can even make a cake for the stall and that counts you as a volunteer (I started with a cake. I'm now Treasurer) and you do not have to be a member of NCT to do any of this.

it sounds like a poor NCT sale tbh. when I used to volunteer with set up scruffy items or ones without parts / instructions would be rejected.

Space is at a premium as its a teeny one bed flat up 2 flights of stairs! Completely impractical for a baby really, but I will only stay for month after the birth until I am well enough to be discharged from my london medical care ( I think the midwives come and see you for 3 weeks?), then I will spend my 6 months maternity leave at my mums house up North, with a view to hopefully relocating their permanently (no partner, so just me to decide for, see how it goes as I have been in London 20 years, but hope it will work out)

Renting my flat out for the 6 months, possibly forever, so mum and I will be doing the newborn stage in the bare minimum of baby stuff as it will all just need moving anyway, so not buying stuff for older ages, just newborn.

I don't really know people with babies (although I am 37!) so no clue about what I need to be buying -so mumsnet is brilliant for that!

Thanks for the tips -I wanted to volunteer -I emailed them and they didn't respond to me! ( I am an NCT member too) and when I got there they were so lovely I didn't want to whinge that they hadn't responded to my email should I wat to go back and make friends there...

Sounds dreadful! I have volunteered/bought/sold at our (Huddersfield) fir 5 or 6 years. We are very particular about the quality of items we accept - clothes clean, unstained, undamaged; electrical items must have batteries and be working; large items need instructions etc. All the stuff to sell is sorted onto ranked of similar its eg: all slings are together; all cots together etc. Clothes are sorted by age and gender, toys are sorted by type and age.

All this makes it a "Gold Standard" sAle, which people travel 30'or 40 miles for! If you volunteer at the sale you get in before anyone else, there's 30 mins "private shopping" before the sale opens to the public. When it opens, NCT mrmbers get it first, the everyone else.

It's worth looking out for "gold standard" sales, they filter out the rubbish on arrival. I have bern known to reject everything a seller brought in for being broken/stained/scuffed/broken.

Was it the Walthamstow one you went to yesterday? I went and thought it was pretty terrible - those huge piles of clothes on tables! I got a few good bits (Frugi dungarees, big bag of Megablocks) but was disappointed. I've been to much better ones in other areas.

Sounds like you'll be better off picking up most things once you're back up north. Newborns really don't need much beyond a Moses basket, bedding & clothes. You can improvise a play mat out of a blanket and just hold simple toys for the baby.
I've only been to one NCT sale and wasn't impressed. We've done really well buying secondhand through eBay and Gumtree. The advantage of gumtree being that you see before you buy (and have time to google price etc). We're also lucky in Scotland to have something called Jack & Jill sales, similar to NCT but so much better as sellers have their own stalls and there's loads to choose from so comparing quality & price is easy.
Am a supermarket girl all the way in terms of clothes - mainly asda & tesco but sainsburys also good. My mum regularly picks up bargains in aldi too. You might be able to buy online for home delivery to save you the travel time out to a big superstore.

Ambivalence I will be amazed if you get three weeks of Midwife visits unless you have special medical needs - they usually only visit for ten days post birth (and this doesn't mean a visit every day for 10 days)

When are you due?

I think you were poss a bit unlucky I've had lots of good stuff at them including baby bjorn for £3. You do need to get in asap as soon as you can though as the bargains go within seconds, literally. Some sellers do take the p with prices.

Yes, I think I need to buy as little as possible for newborn, Moses basket and bedding, baby bath, clothes from supermarket multi packs - luckily no need for toys at that stage.

I think I need to actually research what I need first, then buy from eBay. Gumtree is great, if I can get to inspect the goods - and the bonus of London is public transport is at least cheap, but without a car, transporting bulky items pregnancpt and alone is daunting - hence Moses basket rather than cot!

Was the haringey sale (couch end) yesterday -people delightful, couldn't have been lovelier, but the items were expensive ( to my eyes), it is. Ahold standard sale though, I think I don't know enough about what I am buying an Ethan is the problem

I found my local nct sale a bit disappointing too. Stained clothes, really tatty slings, beat up toys etc. I'm not sure how it's organised at yours but at the one I went to all of the stuff was thrown in together and labelled with a number which was taken at the end when you paid- obviously corresponding with whoever gave it to be sold. I found a Table Tots one where people manned their own stall, selling their own stuff was much better as you can ask questions and if you find someone with your tastes you just but loads off them!
I've had some fantastic bundles of clothes of e bay too- just be specific with the search so "New born Next/M&S/Mothercare baby girls clothes" rather than just "baby clothes".

Can recommend sainsburies for multipacks of babygroes. They've lasted twice as long as the tescos ones, and they have some very cute designs. Asda are somewhere in between, but definitely better than tescos.

You don't need a Moses basket if you've got a cot. They're only in them for a few weeks at most, and my DS HATED his as he couldn't see out the sides.

Agree the sales can be hit and miss. Individual sellers price their own so there's no consistency. Round here (oop north) you can't get decent money even for things in really good condition. Agree you need to be there as soon as it starts to get anything good.

And don't be too annoyed about your email not being replied to - they are all volunteers with other things to do

Sounds like you were unlucky. Our branch removes poor or incomplete items from the sale. It's in the NCT's interest to keep up the sale's good reputation. Having sold in a few sales I imagine the volunteers in our branch would come down on those sellers like a ton of bricks

That said our local sale was yesterday and it was very very quiet (sunny day) and sales were poor. Traditionally our branch is not good for clothes for boys which is what I need so I won't bother to buy (or sell!) in future.

In the past I've done well buying bundles of toddler clothes (nearly new dresses for 50p, 4 trousers for £1) - not only what DC need now, but what they will need next year, etc. Look out for better brands (I got a Monsoon coat new for £5), ski clothes, occasion dresses and baby gros.

Our sale is good for big items: amazing dolls houses, baby and toddler bike seats, bikes, little tykes garden houses, baby backpack-style carriers... that's where the real bargains are IMO.

Hth

AnnieLewis - glad to know it is only 10 days. I really don't know anything -the 3 weeks was the answer I got from a fried sister who has a 7 week old, but she is sleep deprived and so maybe got that wrong.

I am not annoyed they didn't respond to my email, I understand they are busy.

Bolshybookworm - thanks for the tip for sainsburys - will do that..

Ambivalence about the visits - check with your Midwife at next visit as it does vary from borough to borough and of course on your medical history etc.

Also have you joined the local 'Mums/Parents' group on Facebook? Most of them are good for listing what is on in your local area or new Mums. It could be worth checking out the ones in your Mums area too if you are planning on moving up there when baby is still little. You could make contact with some others due around the same time as you to make the move easier (I know a friend who did this very successfully and didn't feel like such a stranger when she moved)

annie -thanks, I will ask the midwife and it will help me plan.

Good advice on Facebook, I haven't announced my pregnancy on there, and for reasons to do with ex, probably shouldn't , but maybe I could adjust my privacy settings and go on there.

I have signed up to do NCT classes at my mums, they are May and June and can't wait - but Facebook sounds like a good idea too - thanks.

I know the NCT classes are expensive -but I literally know not a soul there, haven't lived there since I was 18, so not above paying to make some friends!